The Castlebar Youth Information Centre, aka The Kipp, is closing. Please sign the petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/save-the-kipp# to try and stop this.

The Castlebar Youth Information Centre is a vital resource for young people in County Mayo. It is one of the few outlets teenagers, especially younger teenagers have; an alcohol-free, informal, non-religious social space where they can meet and hang out with their friends, and also receive valuable information.

The Kipp is to close after Christmas 2011, and this will also result in job losses for the two staff of the centre.

We believe that the Kipp is a vital resource for young people, who without it will have little or no safe social spaces. We call on the government to provide the funding to prevent the closure of the Kipp.

As a person who attened The Kipp for the biggest part of my teenage years I do not want it to close. Some of my best friends are people I have met at The Kipp. I play in a band, Struck. If it was not for The Kipp I would not be in this band and touring the country. The Kipp provided me a place to go in town, when I could have easily gone out binge drinking like a lot of teenagers. Castlebar needs The Kipp. Teenagers need a safe enviroment to socialise and make friends. This will be A MASSIVE loss for Castlebar. PLEASE support ans sign the petition.